The Enduring Edelweiss Military Legacy
The quiet persistence of 'lost' powers revealed through tracing historical lineage of the use of military symbols through time.
The "Edelweiss" has been a significant military symbol for centuries, starting with an Austro-Hungarian legend in which Emperor Franz Joseph plucked this delicate blossom as a token of affection for his cherished wife. In the latter half of the 19th century it was adopted as an emblem worn on the collars of mountainous regiments within the Austro-Hungarian Army.
As Europe began to beat the drums of the First World War, the "Edelweiss Division" was formed out of multiple alpine infantry regiments. In 1915, the esteemed honorific was extended to German alpine troops, further cementing the flower's military significance. Following demobilization in 1919, a musician in the German Imperial Army named Herms Niel emerged as a prominent composer of military marches composing the popular Es war ein Edelweiss for the Nazi-German Army in 1941.
The word itself stays true to good ole’ fashioned Nazi racism, being a combination of ‘edel’ meaning noble, and ‘weiß’ meaning white.  The emblem found official usage within the Gebirgsjäger Division of the notorious Waffen-SS. The division’s commanding officer, Hubert Lanz, led the divison’s invasion of the Soviet Union alongside local Ukrainian nationalists in 1941. He would later be tried for war crimes in Nuremberg as a part of the Hostages Trial.
Some of Lanz’s war crimes outlined in the trial include:
• The murder of thousands of civilians in Greece, Yugoslavia, Norway, and Albania.
• Inhumane treatment and deportation to slave labor of both civilians and prisoner’s of war.
• Pillaging and plundering property, causing the unnecessary destruction of cities and towns.
• The torture and systematic terrorization of civilians in Greece, Yugoslavia, and Albania.
These heinous acts were perpetrated by troops proudly bearing the edelweiss symbol upon their uniforms under the guise of "helping the Ukrainian people liberate themselves from Muscovite occupation." Yet somehow the same disingenuous messaging is scorching the earth 75 years later. The Nazi’s still grasp for power through destruction and deceit.
Three months ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decided to bestow the ‘honorable’ title of Edelweiss upon the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, - the same designation given to the 1st Mountain Division of the Armed Forces of Nazi Germany. Perhaps the name isn’t so inappropriate however, given the brigade’s involvement in attacks on the citizens of the Donetsk People's Republic that began in 2016 following the US-backed military coup in Kiev. In fact, the name may be one of the most genuine gestures Zelensky’s government has ever made.
For once the words align with the actions.
-The Shultz Report by M. Shultz